Diva

03.13.14

The Ever-Avenging Diana Rigg

The ‘Game of Thrones’ actress takes a look back with a laugh.

Diana Rigg knows how to find the humor in growing older: "The older you get, I have to say, the funnier you find life," she says. "If you get serious about yourself as you get old, you are pathetic." She's not ashamed of talking to pigeons in the park, or shy about speaking frankly about the sexes: "I think women of my age are still attractive," she says. “Men of my age aren’t.” The Game of Thrones actress (and six time Emmy nominee) has had her share of misfortune—she sued the Daily Mail for portraying her as a lonely recluse after her divorce. But she’s never been one to shy from a fight. After her breakthrough role in The Avengers, she fought for equal pay, acidly noting that she was "getting paid less than the cameraman." And while her feminism has centered on equal pay, she’s come to believe that women's qualities might make them deserving of greater compensation than men. "We're extremely good at business, getting business done, prioritizing, organizing."